A spatial approach to climate-resilient infrastructure in coastal social-ecological systems: The case of dumbeong in Goseong County, South Korea

Sustainable landscape planning and management of coastal habitats has become an integral part of the global agenda due to anthroprogenic pressures and climate change-induced events. As an example of human-engineered infrastructure that enhances the sustainability and resilience of coastal social-ecological systems (SES), we have presented the dumbeong system, a farmer-engineered and managed irrigation system based on Korean traditional ecological knowledge. We analyzed the spatial relationship of dumbeongs with coastal landscape attributes and droughts in Goseong County in South Korea. We used generalized linear models (GLMs) to examine the effects of land cover and recent (2001–2010) standardized precipitation index (SPI) on the abundance of dumbeongs. Then, we projected near future (2020–2050) changes in the SPI-based drought risk for the dumbeong system using representative concentration pathway (RCP) climate scenarios. We found that forest and marine water areas have positive relations with dumbeong abundance, whereas SPI has a negative relation, indicating that the dumbeongs are more abundant in areas close to sea water and forests, and with higher incidences of drought. Derived climate change scenarios show that the study region will experience higher incidence of drought. Our findings provide empirical evidence for the dumbeong system as an effective community designed and driven adaptive response to local hydrological processes and climatic conditions, and as climate-resilient infrastructure that strengthens sustainability and resilience of coastal SES. Based on our findings, we provide recommendations for sustainable landscape management and optimal use of the dumbeong system in coastal regions.